Why is IM dominated by mostly men...?

[ktlasm]

Hey Good People,

Simple question for ya...We all see the "guru's" and all the things they do to earn themselves a great living online. I totally respect their craft and ability to carve out their own piece of the pie, but as I've grown the past 7yrs in IM and have met my share of smart, successful marketers. It still surprises me that most of the "big dogs" are like me...MALE. Now, I know there are women ripping it up and doing their thing, but why do you think men dominate the IM industry as of now...? Ciao!

[Chris Kent]

Not sure. If there's one thing you can say about remote working over the internet, it is not sexist.

Probably has something to do with natural instincts?

This is a very deep and complex subject, I doubt there is a single explanation.

[SteelDanno]

Agree with PC. I think us fellas generally have more of the genetic hard wiring that makes us more predisposed to be attracted to all things money.

[Ron Killian]

It might be dominated by men, but I see quite a few female guru's/popular marketers, I think it's great

[gyar29]

Originally Posted by SteelDanno

Agree with PC. I think us fellas generally have more of the genetic hard wiring that makes us more predisposed to be attracted to all things money.

So wrong in so many ways.

I hope you're wearing your kevlar vest .

I'm really really looking forward to the responses to this one!

Gene

[ktlasm]

PC...You've got a hit on you already..lol

[syncjam]

We love money - we make money - then we give it to our wives!

[Michael Lee]

I think it might be due to many culture's belief where men are the breadwinners, and the wives take care of home and the kids. I could be wrong though.

[7digital]

I think it's a competition thing amongst men.

[Andy1750]

It's because men are much more willing to completely over exagerate which is what all the gurus have to do to convince people to spend a lot of money on information that you can normally find elsewhere for free.

Andy

[shane_k]

Women have been "working from home" a lot longer than men, so maybe the trend for them right now is to make more gains in the boardrooms of corporations around the world.

Shane_K

[DougBarger]

To be totally forthright, some of the responses have hit upon it already,

but to really drive it home, I'd have to borrow a leaf from a great man who has

influenced many and my life profoundly, the reverend Pastor Paul Gilbreath.

One time he was explaining about what it truly means to be "More than Conquerors"

in layman terms by telling the story of the prize fighting champion who

stepped in the ring and whipped the snot out of his opponent.

He was awarded what's called "the money purse".

He would be called a "Conqueror".

Later at home, he handed over the money purse to his wife.

She is called "More than a Conqueror".

[Frank Donovan]

Originally Posted by ktlasm

Why is IM dominated by mostly men...?

Who are these "mostly men" supposedly dominating IM?

And what are the remaining parts of these beings made of - Hamsters? Wombats? Robots?



Frank

[HeySal]

Most women are smart enough not to dive into something that is going to take so darned much work and frustration, LOL. And yes....I do realize I just called myself an idiot.

[DeadGuy]

Like so many other things... men like to talk about it, women just do it.

If you're talking about domination in terms of notoriety, most everyone would agree. The most well-known guru's in IM are male. Never seen a study on this but I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that women involved with IM average greater income than their male counterparts. I'm basing that strictly on women that I know in this arena and ones that I've worked with closely.

[Randy Bheites]

This subject seems to have already been discussed at great length recently:

warriorforum DOT com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/41531-where-women-gurus.html

[garyv]

I totally agree with Lewis - I'd be willing to bet that there are a ton of women working silently in the background (and maybe not even in the background) and raking in more than most here. They just don't have the ego, and therefore don't find it necessary to call themselves "guru". Which very well could be an advantage for them.

Because female marketer don't require the same attention in business. Even though I do believe that there are more monetarily successful males in IM--I don't think that the gap is that wide.

There are female marketers that will beat the pants off of many male marketers.

[LB]

Because women are smart enough to marry successful marketers and get paid without having to work at all.

[ktlasm]

Such an array of viewpoints...some actually made me think a lil bit...good stuff!

[koolwarrior]

Originally Posted by 7digital

I think it's a competition thing amongst men.

don't think women don't compete! they can be more competitive than us males

[Anna Johnson]

Is the disparity any different to that in many (if not most) other businesses?

Not sure of the answers, but it may be to do with how men and women are raised.

When I look at the men and women I know who have become successful entrepreneurs or business people, they tend to come from backgrounds where they were encouraged - or forced - to pursue their dreams. They don't have the same limiting beliefs about what they're supposed to do in life that most people are probably raised to have.

It may be that more women than men are raised - even subtly - with limiting beliefs and that this crosses over into the number of women versus men who become entrepreneurs. I think this will change over time as, gradually, more women become more prominent in business circles.

[Sonni]

I think it's about emotions women tend to be more emotional and want to work jobs they can be all emotional about. IM is all about no emotion and being all business. It's tough, competitive and kind of a battle, men love to battle and women don't. The women that hang with it are the exception to the rule. Men are men and boys will be boys they love the challenge. My 2 cents.
Sonni

[ktlasm]

Sonni & Anna....I'm feeling your post...both make sense...a lot!

[sevenish]

Men tend to be louder. If being louder is what you describe as "dominating", well ...

Verifiable results is what I care about, not bluster.

[BizBoost]

Aaaaaaand, the WINNER is...?!?!?!?!

Originally Posted by Andy1750

It's because men are much more willing to completely over exagerate which is what all the gurus have to do to convince people to spend a lot of money on information that you can normally find elsewhere for free.

[AaronJones]

Possibly because men are more attracted to IM because they want the "work in your underwear" lifestyle and make lots of money.(Women do not need to get into IM to live that dream). :-)

[vicone]

On a number of occasions I've offered to teach IM to women in my family but they invariably reply "it's too impersonal".

They prefer to work in environments that encourage more personal interaction. Of course, there will always be exceptions. For instance, some professions tend to be predominantly female, such as teaching and nursing. I saw figures recently that showed 95% of nurses in Australia were female. Again, there were exceptions, as shown by the remaining 5% and, of course, there are many male teachers.

Although a generalization, there are more men happier to work in situations where there is little human interaction required - such as working with machines.

Personally, I like it that way - I press a button and the machine stops talking. I disabled Skype on my computer for much the same reason. Yet the women in my family will talk on the phone until the battery runs flat!

Ivan

[activetrader]

There are a lot of successful high-earners women in the IM but they don't go around telling everyone how much they make. For men I think it's about ego and
competitiveness. For women it's more about the bottom line rather than recognition

[ktlasm]

So, could it be because we(men) have an ego...? from what I'm reading in a lot of the post here.

[CPA]

What do you mean "dominate"?

Do you have any idea how many markets are out there and products in different niches than the IM one created by woman?

[mmurtha]

Originally Posted by ktlasm

Hey Good People,

Simple question for ya...We all see the "guru's" and all the things they do to earn themselves a great living online. I totally respect their craft and ability to carve out their own piece of the pie, but as I've grown the past 7yrs in IM and have met my share of smart, successful marketers. It still surprises me that most of the "big dogs" are like me...MALE. Now, I know there are women ripping it up and doing their thing, but why do you think men dominate the IM industry as of now...? Ciao!

Hey Kevin,

I just have one question for you. Who says IM is dominated by mostly men lol?

It really depends on how people define dominant - being louder about accomplishments or having the need to be seen more in the public arena doesn't neccessarily mean dominance to me.

Women just simply do things differently then men do, like work quietly and rake in the money honey.


Mary

[Martin Luxton]

To put it less politely than Andy1750 - men are better at bullsh**ing people.

Martin

[tessmac9708]

Because the ladies are too busy spending all the hunter/gatherers gold coins...just kidding ladywarriors

[FranMurray]

PC has a good point. I will take a shot at the however.

I am trying a niche that is geared toward woman. Let me tell ya this... I simply have a rough time writing copy for this niche because I don't think like a female. Men in this business are not passive, we seem to be bold and use phases like Dominate, Power, Explode... you get the idea. This does not interest most females (from what I have seen and I am not trying to step on any toes).

I am sure there are female "Guru's" but we are not going to pay attention because the style writing and ad copy is like day and night.

Just my thoughts
Fran

[Shannon Herod]

It is because all the "Gurus" belong to an elite mastermind group called the He Man Women Haters Club.

I think now that you know that it becomes painfully obvious.

[SandraCee]

Originally Posted by Michael Lee

I think it might be due to many culture's belief where men are the breadwinners, and the wives take care of home and the kids. I could be wrong though.

Oh NOOO he didn't!

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by ktlasm

... but why do you think men dominate the IM industry as of now...?

I tink it be coz men is more intelligenter

[Kay King]

There are more women successful online than you know. Simple reason is a basic difference between the sexes....women don't have the need to beat their chest and compare size. They may be more likely to channel their "aggression" toward the niches they work and earn in.

Another question asked a while back is why you don't see as many women at seminars for IM. Consensus was that most seminars are weekend long events and women are not as likely to leave children for the weekend. But also because many women have no interest in "business meetings" - that's why they work at home.

kay

[Michael Oksa]

Shannon, you're out of the club. Turn in your decoder ring and plastic whistle.

[Matt Maiden]

Originally Posted by Kay King

Simple reason is a basic difference between the sexes....women don't have the need to beat their chest and compare size. They may be more likely to channel their "aggression" toward the niches they work and earn in.

I agree with Kay,

My oldest daughter, one of 4, was my athlete and she and I played basketball together since she was 10 years old. I was her coach for a couple of years at the school and she was pretty good.

She got a scholarship to college and can almost whoop dad. ( I think she lets me win)

Anyway, now at 28 with kids she still is good enough to go out and beat her husband and his friends, (which is why they don't play with her anymore) but she has never boasted or bragged. Ever.

During a game in 9th grade she was totally dominating the other player on the other team and at one point she asked me to take her out of the game and when I asked her why she said "because I'm destroying that girl and I don't want her be seen like this in front of her dad".

I have to admit it made me feel like crying.

Sorry for the long story but yes I agree with Kay and also there are a lot more women in IM then men see.

Matt

[Fernando Veloso]

My wife can kick some IM gurus butts and shes a ladie. In fact, ladies have a special ability to be more "cold" while doing business..

[Vince Runza Online]

Uh, because it gives men something to do while surfing for porn? According to informed sources, those downloads take time, even with a fast connection...

[IMChick]

• We are the unseen 'force' in the universe.

Behind every successful man, there is a woman.

To add to that famous quote:
Behind every woman, there is a man checking out her a**

• Of course, you can also look to the hunter-gathers and nurturers for your answer, because it's the same -- Males of every species, right down to the (beta) siamese fighting fish, are flamboyant and aggressive. The right to mate and acquisition of wealth (and food for dinner) as well as the species very survival depends on this. Women are 'in the background' and like the plainly colored pea hen, don't need the male peacock feather plumage or coloring or temperamental 'display' to win their mate or attain their goals.

• This translates to IM like this:

Look to your business and to your competition. In all likelihood, that's where the silent women are lurking, in the sites ranking higher than yours and through the marketing you see and say " sheesh I wish I had thought of that."

Yes, we are 'eating your lunch' but are too ladylike to let it show.

[Maria Gudelis]

If it makes sense to making more money - then us 'women' do step up to the plate and become a guru...the little known secret sometimes is this...

1. You become so busy traveling city to city you no longer make the $$$ in your own business because you are so busy now speaking...which isn't too much of a problem as one can put in systems to run the biz...

It only becomes a problem when 2. below happens..

2. ...once you become a guru...sometimes you become the hooker to the pimp - the pimps being the players putting on the seminars, filling the seats, controlling the CASH - payment methods...nothing is worse than presenting - closing a good percentage of the room...delivering your product and the value...then have to 'chase' the seminar pimps to get your money....

Now that is one cold hard scenario that then makes one think...

Nice to stay in my comfy pink slippers and make money when I want, how I want, control the cash...and then travel when I want, how I want!

Oh...and also - maybe some females are using a male pen name for their products....

[Aravind Murthy]

Originally Posted by Andy1750

It's because men are much more willing to completely over exagerate which is what all the gurus have to do to convince people to spend a lot of money on information that you can normally find elsewhere for free.
Andy

Andy,

Are you trying to suggest that men are better liars?
(LOL, no offense met to anyone....)

[melanied]

I'm with others who have said that I don't think IM is dominated by men, I think the guru/speaking circuit is dominated by men.

As to why that is, it's tough to say without getting into generalizations, and I'm not into them.

[Maria Gudelis]

Originally Posted by cosmokid

T
I went into stealth mode and kept building out affiliate sites and published a few more ebooks......all anonymously or under a male persona.

I tripled my income in five months working under male personas.

This is in a lot of niches that didn't even have anything to do with IM.

So that's been interesting.

Present yourself as male, triple your income.

That's what I did.

Jennifer

Jennifer - how weird - you posted same time I did so didn't see yours when I said - some of us post under a male penname!!!

[Sheila]

Some things are part of our culture and contribute to the myths that motivate buyers. Doesn't mean they're right, doesn't mean they're wrong . . . but these myths exist and, like it or not, gender bias is alive and thriving in our world.

Women have used male pen-names for centuries because women often do not have the luxury of being recognized as "experts" no matter what credentials they hold. We live in a male-dominated world - it's just the way it is.

And, because of this, the good ol' boys network is still very strong in the business world - not just the IM world. A woman needs to work much harder to prove she knows what she's talking about than a man does. Most men don't see women as being credible because women think differently than the men they are accustomed to doing business with. And women don't see women as being credible, because women don't generally have the power and prestige men have.

Another drawback for women is that, because we're women, we don't have access to the same networks a man has for building a business, and quite often a woman doesn't have mentors around her to help her see things from a business perspective - unless she's the girlfriend, mother, grandmother of someone who's taken her under their wing.

This doesn't mean women aren't smart enough, or don't have the ability to succeed in business - quite the contrary. It's just that women don't always recognize that the skills they've developed while running the "business" of managing a household are beneficial in the business world - things like time management skills, communication skills, budgeting skills, resourcefulness, persistence, the ability to motivate others, the ability to take action, meet deadlines and multi-task to accomplish goals - these are all assets to women, but women don't always see these as marketable strengths. Hopefully, all of this is changing, but it's where we're at right now.

Bottom line is that most men prefer to network with men they can bond with over drinks, while playing a round of golf, etc. And they're not receptive to a woman joining their "party" because a woman changes the dynamics of the interaction. So, less JV's are formed between men + women = less chance of a woman's business growing as quickly as a man's business. And . . .

Since there are less women in the marketplace, and most women are still relatively new to the entrepreneurial world, less-successful women often see a strong, successful woman as an adversary . . . I don't know why this is, but I know I've experienced the "stabs in the back" often while I was working in another male-dominated field . . . so, as a result, there's not so much joint venture activity going on between women to help advance both of their businesses! Consequently, we have a lesser number of highly successful women in the marketplace. Sad, but true . . .

[ktlasm]

You guys really went into this one...Love it!